montecatini

John, I was in Montecatini Terme for 4 nights earlier this year with 4 friends. We had picked this as a "rest stop" between a very packed itinerary started to the south and with an equally packed itinerary still to come further north.
It was also a suitable place to stop so that those of us who hadn't been to Pisa before could take the train there. We also took the train to Lucca for a day. One thing you dont mention is taking the funicular to Montecatine Alto which I would highly recommend - we had a great lunch here with terrific gelato (sorry cant remember the name of the restaurant). I think you can walk back down from there (altho' we came back on the funicular). The town feels very old fashioned but I enjoyed the ambience. When I looked at the prices of the spas I thought they were very steep and decided against. Was happy to chill by the hotel pool. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Panoramic, a 4* hotel which was a 10/15 minute hike from the main part of the town (but very close to the funicular). I think the rooms are variable, mine was small but everything worked fine. The breakfast was the usual buffet style, nothing special. It had a pleasant small pool area. Sorry, hotel review a bit half-hearted, it worked for what we wanted but I have stayed at better 4*hotels. Might try to stay nearer the centre if go there again but wouldn't rule out.